Keep fairgrounds from
continued damage

I live near Jefferson County Fairgrounds and walk through it frequently. It was sweet to see our fun county fair resume this summer (clean grounds before, during, after) as well as THING (no noise or problems, immediately cleaned upon campers’ departure). 

But devastation left by a mud bog group last fall was never cleaned up. They left fuel-contaminated standing water, deep gouges, dirt piles, old tires and cement debris, and seriously degraded a whole section of our fairground. These scars left on public land indicate grave negligence on the part of the event group, fairground facility management, and county enforcement. Why wasn’t this group charged for negligence and required to pay for damage mitigation?

Our fairgrounds deserves and requires immediate long-range planning attention before it degrades even further. We can take this opportunity to welcome all: Start by honoring the past and present uses of this public land by Indigenous Peoples. 

We should clean up our own mess. A conservation easement could commemorate and protect these lands in perpetuity to recognize and sustain Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific Northwest Tribal Canoe Journeys.

Jane Freeburg
PORT TOWNSEND